Sixers' camp contingent grows by 3

Three free agents, including two with local connections, have been added to the 76ers' roster for today's opening of training camp.

Former college standouts Jeff Myers of Drexel, a 6-foot-2 guard, and Lamont Barnes of Temple, a 6-10 forward, were signed to free-agent contracts yesterday, as was 7-2 center Robb Dryden of Georgia. With their additions, the Sixers' training-camp roster numbers 19.

The three new signees reported to camp at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine yesterday, along with other players with three or fewer years of NBA experience. The group will take part in its first practice this morning under Randy Ayers, the Sixers' rookie head coach.

This afternoon, the veterans will report. The first full-squad workout will take place tomorrow morning, with Ayers beginning a series of two-a-day practices.

Among the 10 players with three or fewer years of experience are 6-10 center/forward Marc Jackson, the former Temple star who was acquired from Minnesota in July in a four-team deal, and two players who missed last season with knee injuries - 6-11 center Samuel Dalembert and 6-7 forward Sam Clancy. Also among them are the Sixers' two second-round picks in this year's NBA draft - 6-4 guard Willie Green and 6-7 forward Kyle Korver.

Via Philadelphia Inquirer

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Enthusiasm, questions as Sixers open camp

They now have a legitimate No. 2 scorer to take some of the heat off Allen Iverson, but can they rebound?

They have enough depth at guard to pressure opposing offenses at times, but can they defend the opposition's big inside people in the half-court?

They have a new head coach who spent six years learning the pro game under Hall of Famer Larry Brown, but how will he handle his first NBA season in the spotlight?

The 76ers have reasons for optimism to go with a bushel of questions as rookie head coach Randy Ayers opens training camp this week at the team's practice facility at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Rookies and free agents will report tomorrow and have their first practice Tuesday morning. Veterans will come in Tuesday afternoon, and the full squad will begin two-a-day practices Wednesday.

Ayers, whose most recent head coaching job was at Ohio State, said that while he will retain a lot of the old concepts under Brown, he will introduce some new ones, and he will take his time.

"I hope I don't rush the process," he said. "We look at training camp as a monthlong process. I don't think it's just the first three or four days when you go two-a-days. You have to think of training camp as the month of October. I want to make sure we cover some things.

"At this level, because of the lack of preparation time, you can't always go back and reteach. You have to get your foundation in right now."

Via Philadelphia Inquirer

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Hurley joins Sixers as pro scout

As Bobby Hurley drifted back to watching the NBA games he no longer could play, guess who was one of the main attractions?

"It's [Allen] Iverson,'' Hurley was saying yesterday, after being named a pro scout by the 76ers. "He made me a believer my last 2 years as a player, having to try and guard him.

"I just appreciated his energy, his heart, kind of how I always wanted to play, maybe a little less talented, or even a lot less talented.''

Iverson signed a 4-year extension with the Sixers Wednesday evening. Hurley joined the Sixers' organization yesterday.

When Sixers president/general manager Billy King decided to expand the team's basketball operations department, he went back to his Duke roots for Hurley, who led the Blue Devils to NCAA national championships in 1991 and '92. King also reached westward for former Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Rex Kalamian as an advance scout.

Kalamian, who spent two of his Clippers seasons as an assistant to current Sixers assistant Chris Ford, left that organization after last season. Hurley is back in the league after retiring because of a crushing auto accident in '93 and a severe knee injury several years later. He is hopeful that, as a once-overachieving 5-10, 165-pound point guard who became the No. 7 overall pick by Sacramento in the 1993 draft, he can see beyond the sheer talent of players around the league.

"A lot of guys can assess who can score with a right hand or left hand, who can go to the hole, who can shoot,'' he said. "Hopefully, I'll rely on my instincts, which were fairly good when I was playing.

"I always felt I was physically able to play at this level, that there was a place for me in the league. That's what I'll look for, guys with talent who in a better scenario might contribute more.''

Via Philadelphia Daily News

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